With pressure from defensive end Leonard Williams, right, USC quarterback Max Wittek throws a pass during Saturday's spring game at the Coliseum. PAUL RODRIGUEZ, ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

LOS ANGELES – Now, USC's quarterback battle takes a summer hiatus.

It's been an interesting spring, with sophomores Cody Kessler and Max Wittek and freshman Max Browne all competing to succeed Matt Barkley, but after six weeks and 15 spring practices, there's little clarity.

USC concluded spring ball Saturday afternoon with its annual scrimmage at the Coliseum, and when Coach Lane Kiffin releases a depth chart Monday, it almost certainly will not designate a No. 1 quarterback. That means the competition will resume in August, when the Trojans rev up again for fall camp.

''We'll go back and watch the film, but I would not imagine a decision coming out of today,'' Kiffin said.

So who "won'' the day? Kessler. In six drives, he completed 15 of 22 attempts for 242 yards and three touchdowns. Wittek, in five drives, completed 12 of 17 for 145 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. Browne, in five drives, completed 7 of 11 for 80 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Each one had his moments. Kessler, quelling doubts about arm strength, threw a deep ball that turned into a 70-yard touchdown to Marqise Lee. Wittek lofted a perfectly placed ball to the end zone for a 30-yard touchdown to Lee. Browne and Nelson Agholor connected on a 44-yard touchdown.

Kessler, though, made fewer mistakes and showed nice command on the field. Several times at the line of scrimmage, he pulled back – Barkley-like – to call an audible or move teammates to different spots.

With Wittek and Browne sitting at the same interview table, Kessler gave a diplomatic answer when asked if he thought he had done enough to earn the starting job.

"I think that I put everything I had into it,'' Kessler said. "I think that's the best way to say it. I (put) basically everything I had in spring, and hopefully showed all the hard work that I put in in the offseason, and hopefully showed on film this spring. Because both of these guys are really amazing quarterbacks.''

Later, Wittek gave a more direct answer to the same question.

"Yeah. I think I've played well,'' Wittek said. "I think I put a good resume on film, and I'll look forward to seeing what happens.''

It's unwise to make sweeping judgments from the scrimmage. USC ran 86 plays but did not tackle because of injury woes that kept 20 players (including 16 scholarship players) off the field.

"I really thought the day, the 15th practice, was similar to the first 14 combined,'' Kiffin said. "We saw some of the same good things and some of the same (negative) issues come up.''

That's a fair assessment. The good? The passing game and, by extension, the receivers. Lee caught eight balls for 148 yards and two touchdowns. Agholor caught seven for 116 yards and two touchdowns.

The surprise? Victor Blackwell, the Mater Dei High product who is competing to be the No. 3 receiver. Blackwell, at the end of an under-the-radar spring, caught seven balls for 155 yards and one touchdown.

The defensive front seven looked strong, as it has throughout the spring. There were 12 sacks, including three by Morgan Breslin, and USC's rushing total (including sacks) was minus-13 yards.

Again, the secondary struggled, as evidenced by the passing numbers. The notable exception was safety Demetrius Wright, who had quite a week. On Monday, Wright was told he should have surgery to repair a torn hip labrum, but decided to keep playing and treat it with rehab.

Wright had been a starting safety throughout the spring, but Saturday morning, he was told he was being moved to the second team and was being replaced by freshman Leon McQuay III.

"We told him, 'If you don't like it, come out and make plays,''' Kiffin said.

So, Wright had two interceptions.

"I just had to get my mindset right, so I could come out and show these guys that I could be a starter for them,'' Wright said.

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